Naruto: A World Reborn
by Darkive
Summary: After the defeat of Madara, Naruto and the entire united ninja world are left the task of rebuilding what they have lost, and starting anew. Will peace last? And will the ninja of the world be prepared for a mysterious new threat? Naru/Saku. Rated M for violence, language, and possible explicit material later.
1. Prologue: Another World Stirs

Hello everyone, and welcome to the prologue of my Naruto story! This may not seem like it is connected to the Naruto franchise at first, but I promise it will all make sense. This chapter will also be markedly shorter than the others, so don't worry. Alright, lets get right into it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Naruto franchise. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Prologue: Another World Stirs**

Senshi strode down the rocky, grey beach with his hands clasped behind his back. He was a large and imposing figure, his long, stark-white hair hung down to the small of his back in a finely kept braid, and he wore a fine suit of jet-black armor. At a distance, he might very well have appeared to be a very large human, though upon closer inspection his pale skin and the presence of two large horns protruding from his brow indicated that he was something else entirely.

Around him, Senshi watched as countless others of his kind busied themselves with loading food, weapons, and other such materials onto massive, black metal ships. The ships themselves were sharp-looking and angular, which gave them the appearance of gigantic black swords about to cut through the ocean rather than boats. As he surveyed their progress, a smaller member of Senshi's race wearing similar, if not less magnificent, armor approached him cautiously.

"I bring word of our progress, General." The smaller one said timidly. Senshi turned his white, pupiless eyes towards him.

"And?" his voice was low and commanding. The smaller one straightened.

"Our Ships number in the thousands, the crewmen number in the hundreds of thousands. We will have ample room for all of our weapons and arms, and if we maintain our schedule, the foodstuffs should last us the entire voyage." Senshi nodded curtly.

"What is the latest estimation of our time at sea?"

"Our latest report says we'll be at sea about six years, sir. But they assure us the boats are more than capable, we-"

"**Of course** our ships are more than capable!" Senshi spat, causing his subordinate to recoil in fear. "That wretched princess managed to cross this ocean hundreds of years ago in a _wooden _piece of shit." He turned his gaze out towards the ocean, watching as the sun began to disappear over the horizon, casting red light on the water.

For nearly seven generations, his people had planned and toiled and worked towards this day, and at long last it had finally arrived. With the final preparations almost complete, all that would stand between Senshi and his glorious conquest would be six short years of traversing the expanse of ocean between his homeland and the land of humans. After a lifetime of waiting, six years would be nothing. Senshi was patient, he could wait. Turning abruptly back towards his subordinate, who had been struggling to keep pace with the much bigger being, Senshi growled.

"I want you to deliver a message to all the ship captains. Tell them that come sunrise tomorrow, we begin our journey. Tell them that tomorrow, we begin our conquest to crush those who take what is ours by right." Senshi's eyes narrowed. "Tomorrow, we set course for the land of the Ninja." Senshi's subordinate nodded enthusiastically, then scurried off towards the nearest ship. Senshi turned once more back towards the ocean. A curved smile grew on his pale face. _Soon_. He thought to himself.

Billows of dark smoke began to pour ominously from massive stacks atop the many ships.

_Very__ soon…_


	2. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Welcome everyone to my first Naruto story in quite some time. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! This story takes place after the defeat of Madara, so there will be some creative interpretation on my part. But enough rambling, let's begin, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Naruto franchise. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

Naruto Uzumaki lay in a makeshift medical bed, looking up at the weathered white canvas of the tent he now found himself in. During his final fight against Madara, he had broken more bones than he cared to think about, lost more blood than any person should ever lose, and endured enough pain to last him a lifetime.

Still, despite the pain that still pulsed through his body in waves, Naruto felt more peaceful than he had felt in a long time.

It was finally _over_.

With Sasuke's help, Naruto had managed to finally break through the barrier of sage chakra that had protected Madara so effectively, and incapacitate the legendary ninja for just a fraction of a moment. This had in turn given Sasuke the opening they had been waiting for, and he had run his lightning-charged blade through Madara's heart. The last thing Naruto remembered seeing before his exhaustion and injuries had overcome him was Sasuke bringing his katana down on Madara's throat, just to be sure the mastermind behind this entire war was gone for good. And with his death, the long war that had thrown the world into chaos, the even longer search for Sasuke that had weighed on Naruto so heavily, all of it had come to an end. It felt like the world had at long last been lifted from his tired shoulders.

Naruto's eyes began to wander around his medical tent, and quickly discovered that aside from a stool, piles of books, and several tables of medical supplies, he was alone. After trying to take a deep breath, Naruto cringed as a sharp pain shot through his body from his chest. Carefully peeling back the blanket draped over himself, Naruto found his chest was wrapped several times over with medical gauze.

_Damn,_ he thought to himself. _I must have broken a couple of ribs…_ a faint smile found it's way onto his face. _I guess after fighting one of the most powerful ninja in history, that's getting off easy. _

With some effort, Naruto managed to prop himself up into a sitting position in his bed. Sure, he was in a great deal of pain, but the burning in Naruto's throat told him that what he really needed was water. Just as he was considering how he might manage to move himself out of bed to locate a drink, the entrance flap to the tent flung open to reveal a burst of dazzling sunlight. Naruto had to shield his eyes from the sudden change in brightness.

"You're finally awake, I see. We were beginning to think you were going to sleep straight through to the next great fight for humanity." Naruto didn't have to wait for his eyes to adjust to know who had come to visit him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, a toothy grin spreading across his face, "I hadn't seen you since the start of the battle with Obito! I'm glad you're alright." The silver haired ninja chuckled as he leaned against the nearest table.

"Hey, that's _my_ line. You're the one who went off to fight Madara. How are you feeling?"

"My whole body feels like it got crushed by the Akamichi clan," Naruto joked, wincing slightly as he shifted in bed. Then his mind returned to his painfully dry throat. "I'm also really thirsty, is there any water around?" Kakashi motioned towards the entrance to the tent.

"Sakura just left a little while ago to get you some more. First time she's left your tent in a long time." Naruto's eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Sakura-chan's been in my room? For how long?"

"For as long as you've been out. Taking short breaks to eat, bathe, and get water, or course." Naruto's curiosity intensified at Kakashi's response.

"And… how long have I been out, exactly?" Naruto asked. Kakashi shrugged.

"Oh, I'd say about four days, give or take a few hours."

"I've been asleep for four days?!" Naruto exclaimed, almost yelling. Kakashi chuckled again.

"You're lucky you weren't dead, let alone in a coma. When we found you, you had lost quite a bit of blood, and your chakra levels were so low, we almost couldn't sense them." Kakashi readjusted his position to cross his arms over his chest. "Trust me, the fact that you were out for just four days is a _miracle_."

Naruto ran a bandaged hand through his hair, still amazed. _I can't believe I was unconscious for four whole days!_ He thought to himself. _That means for four days, Sakura…_

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto began, directing his attention back towards his old mentor. "Does that mean Sakura was looking after me for _four days_? I thought she would have at least insisted on treating Sasuke as well."

At the mention of Sasuke's name, Naruto noticed immediately the change in mood within the tent. Kakashi shifted uneasily against the desk.

"Naruto… There's something you should know about-" Kakashi was cut off as the entrance flap once more flung open, this time making way for a somewhat disheveled looking Sakura, who was carrying a large jug of water under her arm.

"Kakashi," Sakura began distractedly, her back to the two of them. "I told you to wipe your feet before you enter a med tent! How am I supposed to keep things sterile if you-" When Sakura finally turned to face Naruto and Kakashi, her sermon on sterility died in her throat. "Naruto!" she exclaimed as she quickly crossed the room, hastily depositing the jug of water on a nearby pile of books. "You're finally awake!" Before Naruto could respond, Sakura had leaned down and hugged him tightly in her arms. Naruto felt the strangest combination of butterflies in his stomach at the unexpected embrace, and utter agony as Sakura's enhanced strength turned her "hug" into a vice on his poor torso.

"S-Sakura," Naruto managed to wheeze, "my…ribs…"

"Oh," Seemingly coming back to her senses, Sakura quickly withdrew from the hug, and smoothed her skirt in embarrassment. "Sorry about that…" Reverting to a more professional demeanor, Sakura looked over Naruto's wounds. "How are you feeling? I'm sure Kakashi told you that you've been unconscious for a long time."

"A little banged up, but I'll be fine, Sakura-chan." Naruto responded, rubbing his tender ribs. "Could I have some of that water?" Sakura gave a quick nod, and quickly poured a generous amount of the clear liquid into a nearby cup.

"I'm sure you must be thirsty," she remarked as she handed to cup to him, "saline drips might keep you hydrated, but they don't do much for dry throats." Naruto graciously accepted the cup and downed its contents in a matter of seconds. With his thirst quenched, Naruto's mind finally returned to his question that had been left unanswered. Naruto set his cup on the table next to his bed and looked seriously up at Kakashi and Sakura.

"Kakashi," he began, staring intently at his former teacher. "What were you going to tell me before? What happened to Sasuke?" Naruto felt his stomach sink as he watched the happiness that had once occupied Sakura's face vanish in an instant. Kakashi sighed heavily. Whatever was coming next was not good news.

"Naruto, when we found you by Madara's body, we only found _you_." Kakashi shook his head slightly. "We searched the surrounding area for two miles in every direction, but there was no sign of Sasuke."

"That can't be right!" Naruto said, his voice rising on its own. "I saw him, we fought Madara together! You must have missed something, or maybe someone took him, or-"

"We checked everywhere, Naruto," Kakashi interjected, "but there were no signs of a struggle, so signs of other people's footprints, nothing. The only two people who had been there before we found you were you and Sasuke."

"There… there was something else, Naruto." Sakura added, her voice quiet and distant. "When we got there, we found Madara's body… but his head was missing."

Confusion and disbelief whirled around in Naruto's head. _What do they mean Sasuke is gone?_ He thought to himself. _We both fought Madara, I know we did. And Madara's head being gone, how does that make sense? Last I remember, Sasuke was…_

Naruto's mind went back to his final moments of consciousness four days ago. He remembered seeing Sasuke, similarly bloodied and exhausted to himself, take slow labored steps towards Madara's body, gripping his sword in both hands. He remembered Sasuke dropping to his knees, and bringing his sword down to cross Madara's neck…

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. _Sasuke wasn't just finishing Madara off, he was… decapitating him… to take his head._ He felt a cold chill run up his spine at the notion that left him feeling numb.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Before I passed out, I saw Sasuke… cutting Madara's head off." Naruto said, his voice hollow. "He probably took it with him for Madara's eyes." Sakura gasped, and Kakashi swore under his breath.

"Damn, I was worried that was the case." Kakashi swore again. "To think the Rinnegan is out in the world again…" He pushed off of the table with on hand and turned towards the exit of the tent. " I have to go and inform Tsunade and the other Kages, they'll need to know what's happened." In three long strides, Kakashi had reached the tent opening. As he lifted the flap to leave, Kakashi paused for just a moment to look back at his former students. "Naruto… I'm sorry." His eyes lingered for a second longer, and then he was gone.

Naruto looked down at his bandaged hands resting in his lap, all of the peace he had felt only moments ago has all but faded from him, replaced by an all too familiar heaviness on his heart. Even after fighting together against the greatest foe in ninja history, Sasuke had left them all over again. He could feel a lump forming in his throat.

"I'm sorry Sakura," Naruto began, still looking down at his hands. "I'm sorry… my promise, I just couldn't- ow!" Naruto was interrupted as Sakura's fist came down on the back of his head.

"Don't you say another damn _word_, Naruto Uzumaki!" Sakura said in a voice so loud and so stern that Naruto looked up in surprise, his sadness disappearing momentarily. Sakura was staring straight at him, her light green eyes burning. "I swear, if you say one more thing about that promise of yours, I will make you wish you'd stayed unconscious!" Naruto blinked.

"B-but Sakura-"

"No buts." She said flatly. "Sasuke is gone again, even when there is no logical reason for him to be anywhere but here. He's gone, and I can't help wishing he wasn't…" Sadness flickered across her face for an instant before being replaced again by a look of determination. "But if you think for _one second_ that it's your fault somehow, or think that I'm going to let you risk your life again going out to look for him, you really are an idiot!" Naruto began to open his mouth to respond, but Sakura stopped him. "Before you say anything else, come with me. There's something you have to see first." Naruto considered for a moment objecting, or arguing with Sakura further, but finally decided to concede.

"Alright Sakura-chan," he said with a sigh. "What is it you want me to see?" Sakura's expression softened slightly.

"We'll need to get you out of this bed, first. Come on, grab my shoulder and try not to trip getting out of bed. Your legs are probably still weak."

Naruto was indeed surprised to find just how weak his legs were. As soon as his feet touched the cool tarped floor of the tent, he could feel every muscle in his lower body scream in protest. His legs felt unbalanced, and he thought he might fall, but with Sakura helping to bear some of his weight, the two of them made slow, steady progress to the tent's entrance. The closer they got to the tent flap, the more Naruto's curiosity began to overshadow his sadness.

"Where exactly are we going?" Naruto asked. A small smile found it's way on to Sakura's face.

"Just outside, you'll see." With her free hand, Sakura pulled back the tent flap, again blinding Naruto with beams of sunlight. He brought his free arm up to his eyes instinctively to shield them from the light, but he could feel the warmth of the sun immediately envelope him as they exited the tent. Naruto soon felt Sakura's hand trying to pull his arm away from his eyes. "Take a look, Naruto."

Reluctantly, Naruto lowered his arm and opened his eyes, facing the sunlight once again. He blinked several times and the brightness seemed to dissipate as his eyes adjusted. As the outside world finally came into view, Naruto's jaw dropped.

His tent had been situated on top of a large hill that overlooked the same valley where their fight with Madara and Obito had begun. Instead of the carnage and chaos that Naruto had remembered being present the last time he had been here though, there was something else entirely. Thousands upon thousands of tents of all different colors and sizes had been erected, with food cooking over fires in large clearings, and the faint sounds of music drifting from various parts of the massive camp. Perhaps though the best part of the entire scene Naruto thought, were the countless ninjas that busily worked within the camp. Ninjas from every one of the major villages could be seen working with one another, caring for the wounded, walking to some place or another, or simply just talking around a fire. And despite the dire events that had brought them together, Naruto noticed that all of them undoubtedly looked happy.

"Wow," Naruto breathed, "Look at everyone! They look so… happy." Naruto turned as he heard Sakura laugh next to him.

"That's because they're not dead, idiot. Or worse, trapped in Madara's genjutsu forever." She smiled at him. "They have _you_ to thank for that. Without you, all these people might not be here." Naruto felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"And they're all here together. It's almost like they've forgotten that they're all from different villages." Sakura nudged him playfully.

"Yeah, fighting together against the destruction of the world will do that to you." Her mood suddenly turned serious once more. "Naruto, I know you may not think about it, or even want to admit it, but you saved those people, all of them. You saved all of our friends and comrades, and countless other people we don't even know, from death or worse. Sakura's eyes met Naruto's unblinking. "You even saved Sasuke from it all. He chose to leave this all behind, and that isn't, and will never be, your fault."

Naruto released his grip on Sakura's shoulder. For a moment he thought he might fall, but he quickly found his balance and managed to support himself. Stretching his sore muscles, Naruto turned towards Sakura once again.

"Sakura… Thank you for showing me this. I think I needed to see how far everyone has come, and how much I have to be thankful for." Sakura stared at Naruto for a brief moment before turning away, seeming somewhat flustered.

"Don't thank me too much," she said, "I just took you outside is all!" The pink-haired kunoichi began to walk down towards the camp below them, stopping to turn and address Naruto once more. "You should rest a bit more, but when you're ready, come and find me in big green tent near the center of camp." She motioned towards a much larger, forest-green tent clearly visible in the distance. "I'm sure the others will want to see you, and Tsunade has requested that you meet with her as soon as you're able." She began her decent down the hill once more, looking back at Naruto one final time. "I'm glad you're awake again, Naruto!"

Naruto watched with a smile as Sakura made her way down the hill, slowly becoming a pink dot amidst the other bustling forms below. Naruto gently lowered himself to the ground, taking a seat in the soft grass. Just then, a breeze blew by, brushing welcome cool air through his hair and over his face. Naruto still felt the slight weight of loss on his heart, but thanks to Sakura and the scene that now sprawled below him, he felt like any problem he might have had right then wouldn't seem so big.

"I'll head down to see Sakura, Baa-chan, and the others in a minute," Naruto said to himself as he lay his head down in the grass and watched several clouds roll by. "But right now, I think this is just what I need."

Naruto had truly only meant to lie there for a moment or two, then return to his tent and get dressed. However, the combination of the warm sun, the soft grass, and the faint sound of music still emanating from the camp below him, it wasn't long until Naruto Uzumaki found himself once more in a deep, peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Reunited

Welcome to chapter two, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. As we get farther into the story, I'll obviously be taking more creative liberties, but for now I'm trying to stay as close to canon as possible with regards to who's alive and who's dead. Since Kishimoto is currently leaving us in suspense as to who's actually going to kick the proverbial bucket, forgive me if my guesses are wrong.

And thanks for the reviews! They making writing these chapters so much more gratifying!

Now, let's get to the good stuff…

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Naruto franchise. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Chapter Two: Reunited**

Kakashi Hatake currently found himself standing in a large purple tent. The sun had begun to set, which meant what little light it had provided through the tent's canopy was quickly disappearing. The only other sources of light came from several lanterns that had been hung in the corners of the tent. Kakashi was standing at the end of a long rectangular table, resting his hands on it's wooden surface. Seated around the table were the Kages of the five great ninja villages as well as General Mifune the samurai from the Land of Iron, all still looking quite worn from the war against Madara. On Kakashi's left sat Tsunade, Gaara, and Mei of Kirigakure, while Onoki of Iwagakure, Mifune, and A of Kumogakure sat to his right. All of them were currently staring at the silver-haired Jonin with rapt attention. Kakashi cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to call for an audience with all of you on such short notice," he began, " but Naruto recently regained consciousness and has revealed some… troubling news."

"Naruto is finally awake? Thank goodness." Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. Next to her, Gaara nodded.

"I too am glad to hear that Naruto has come back to us. He-"

"Yes yes! We owe the boy a great deal," Onoki interuped, his small frame just barely putting his shoulders above the edge of the table. "We'll throw him a damned parade later. I want to hear the news that was _so_ important that you called us away from our people and some much needed rest!" A rumbling laugh came from the Raikage.

"I suppose people your age need _plenty_ of rest, Onoki, regardless of whether or not they just finished fighting a war." The Tsuchikage's bulbous nose turned red with anger.

"Watch your tongue, Raikage, or I'll be happy to show you what people my age can do!"

"Boys, boys, you can beat each other up later," the Mizukage cooed, one arm hanging casually off the back of her chair. She nodded towards Kakashi. "Please continue, Kakashi-kun." Kakashi nodded back.

"Thank you, Mizukage-sama." She smiled coyly.

"Call me Mei." Kakashi gulped.

"Um… yes, well." Kakashi's demeanor once again turned serious. "I have spoken with Naruto. According to his first-hand account of the events following Madara's death, we have reason to believe that Sasuke has gone into hiding…with Madara's Rinnegan in his possession."

It became eerily quiet as the inhabitants in the tent considered the news they had just heard. Mifune was the first to respond.

"Considering the Uchiha boy has already tried to murder everyone in this room at least once, I think I speak for all of us when I say this is troubling news. Has there been any new evidence that might give us an idea where he's gone?" Kakashi shook his head.

"We've sent the best sensor ninjas we have available to scour everywhere within a two-mile radius of where we found Naruto, but even they haven't found anything." Tsunade slammed a fist down onto the table, leaving a noticeable dent in its surface.

"Orochimaru and Kabuto both went missing shortly after Madara fell, along with two of Sasuke's old accomplices. They must have helped him escape somehow." She clenched her teeth in frustration. "We should have watched them closer, we should have _known_."

"We are not without leads, however." Gaara said, "We still have the red-haired girl who traveled with Sasuke in custody. Karin, I believe her name was. Perhaps she will be able to give us an idea of where to look."

"There is something else." Kakashi spoke again. The attention of the room once more fell solely on him. "Sasuke may have taken the Rinnegan from Madara, but he only succeeded in taking half of its power." Onoki raised a white eyebrow questioningly.

"What do you mean, Kakashi?"

"I mean that Madara only had the Rinnegan in _one_ of his eyes. The other one is-"

"Still with Obito!" Tsunade finished, sending hushed murmurs throughout the rest of the tent. Kakashi nodded.

"And Obito is currently being treated and guarded by the best that our nations have to offer."

"And what exactly are we planning to do with this Obito?" A asked pointedly, "I for one have not forgotten the part he played in starting this whole damn war!"

"Lord Raikage has a point," Mifune added, his expression serious. "How do we even know Obito will cooperate with us when he regains consciousness? Is it not possible he will try to escape like Sasuke did?"

"I truly don't believe that Obito will have any aspirations of escape when and if he wakes up," Kakashi said, summoning all the authority he could to his words. "But if it's proof you want…" Kakashi stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. "…I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

Naruto was called back to consciousness by the faint sound of someone calling his name. Still half asleep, he smiled dumbly.

"Sakura-chaaan," he mumbled dreamily, "I'm resting like you said…did you come to wake-" As Naruto's eyes finally opened, however, he was not met by the pink-haired kunoichi. Instead, Sai's emotionless black eyes started back at him entirely to close to his face. "SAI?!" Naruto's eyes snapped open fully and he quickly crawled backwards away.

"Why the hell were you so close?!" Sai flashed him one of his trademark 'smiles'.

"I was coming to wake you up, and the books I've read say that friends should be close with one another."

"They didn't mean _literally_ close, Sai!" Sai Shrugged.

"You called me Sakura while you were waking up. Could it be you were having a perverted dream?" Naruto felt his face heat up in seconds as it turned a shade of beet-red.

"W-what the hell are you even SAYING? I- of course I wasn't-" Naruto took a deep breath to calm his nerves and got to his feet. "What'd you wake me up for, Sai? I'm assuming it wasn't to make me incredibly uncomfortable."

"Sakura told us that you had woken up," Sai replied. "I came to see if you were well enough to come to dinner."

Naruto blinked. While he had been talking with Sai, he hadn't noticed how late it had gotten. Where once the camp below him had been bathed in warm sunlight, the sun had begun to set over the mountains on the horizon, covering everything in a dark orange glow. The bonfires throughout that camp that had before been almost unnoticeable in the daylight now stood out like shining red gems from amongst the tents. Naruto heard his stomach growl.

"Dinner sounds pretty great right now," he said smiling. "I have four days of food to catch up on!" Remembering that he was still wearing his white hospital pants and shirt, he added "let me just put on some actual clothes, first…"

Naruto had gotten ready quickly, while also taking care not to undo any of his bandages, and soon he and Sai were walking together down the hill from his tent towards the camp. It was a warm night, so Naruto had decided to leave his forehead protector and trademark orange jacket behind, wearing instead a black t-shirt with his orange pants. As the two of them trudged down the grassy slope of the hill, Naruto couldn't help but stare once more at the massive camp before them.

"Hey, Sai," he began, "What's happened while I've been out? With everyone here, I mean." He added the last bit hastily, wishing to avoid another discussion about Sasuke's disappearance. Sai thought about it for a moment, placing a contemplative hand on his chin.

"A lot has happened. We only finished setting up this camp two days ago, after all of the divisions met here." He looked towards Naruto. "There was also a large ceremony to remember the ones who died." Naruto frowned.

"I should have been there for that." He said, "A lot of those people died helping me find an opening against Madara, and Neji…" Even from saying the name, Naruto felt a pang of grief from the loss. Neji, who had been one of Naruto's oldest friends, had died protecting Naruto from the Ten Tails, a debt he would never be able to repay. "Did anyone else we know…you know." Sai nodded slowly.

"We heard that at the beginning of the assault, the intelligence headquarters was destroyed by the Ten Tails. Both Shikamaru and Ino's fathered died." Seeing sadness begin to set in on Naruto's face, he quickly added, "-But thanks to whatever that jutsu you used on Might Guy was, he actually survived opening the death gate." Despite the grim news, Naruto managed a smile.

"Knowing Guy, I think he'd have survived from sheer willpower alone even if I hadn't shown up." Naruto started to laugh, but stopped suddenly as it sent splitting pain through his torso. "Shit, I've never had broken ribs that hurt so badly!" Naruto growled, gingerly rubbing his sides.

"It's probably not just your ribs that hurt," Sai said matter-of-factly. "Sakura cut you open, after all." Naruto's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What do you mean she cut me open?!"

"When Madara pulled the Nine Tails out of you, your heart stopped." Sai replied in a tone so conversational that it annoyed Naruto slightly. "So, Sakura cut you open and kept your heart pumping herself. That's probably why your side hurts more than usual."

"Wow…" Naruto breathed, unconsciously putting a hand over his heart. "I guess I owe Sakura a little bit bigger of a thank you than I thought." Sai smiled, this time with one that Naruto recognized as the real thing.

"Well Naruto, you ended the war and saved everyone from Madara's genjutsu, I think that makes you pretty much even." Naruto smirked.

"Sai, did you just make a _joke_?" Sai scratched his head bashfully.

"I have been reading books about sarcasm, but they're sort of difficult to follow… did I do it correctly?" Naruto clapped him on the back.

"Couldn't have done it better myself. Now, which way to dinner? I don't exactly know my way around."

Sai motioned towards the beginning of the camp. "It's close by the tent we've all been staying in, towards the center of the camp. This way." Sai made an abrupt stop at the entrance to the camp, making an "oh" sound. "I almost forgot." Sai pulled his small pack off of his back and pulled from it a long black scarf which he handed to Naruto. "You might want to cover your head with this." Naruto raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"What? Why would I do that?" Sai shrugged.

"You've become somewhat of a celebrity around here, and unless you feel like fighting your way through a crowd of your fans to get to dinner, it might be a better idea to go incognito. At least for now."

Naruto grinned, feeling a slight blush come over his features. Normally he might have wanted to test the validity of what Sai had told him, but the idea of dealing with a large group of people he didn't know, or worse yet, waiting longer for food, did not appeal to him. So, without a word of protest, Naruto wrapped the thin black cloth around his head, making sure to cover his noticeable hair and face.

"You know," Naruto began as he and Sai resumed their walk. "I could have just transformed to look different. We are ninja after all." Sai just shook his head.

"No need for you to use any of your chakra. Besides you look more like a ninja now than you ever did before."

"You still need work on your compliments, Sai…" Naruto grumbled, folding his arms across his chest contemptuously. "Just take me to the food already."

As the two of them walked through the camp, Naruto marveled to himself how quickly such a sprawling camp had been set up. According to Sai, it had been accomplished in only two days, which, when one considered how many other things the united army had to deal with in addition to the camp, was nothing short of extraordinary. What's more, Naruto thought, was how seamlessly ninja from other villages were working and living with one another. During their short walk alone, Naruto had seen countless groups of ninja from the Hidden Leaf, The Sand, The Mist, all of them, all laughing and eating with one another around one of the numerous fires that dotted the camp. Some were singing, others told jokes, and still more simply shared a silent drink with one another. He smiled to himself from underneath his scarf.

_At least something good came from this war. _He thought happily. _To think a generation ago, these people were all trying to kill each other in the last great ninja war. _He looked up towards the stars that had begun to emerge in the sky. _You'd be proud, Pervy Sage._ As he brought his gaze back down to earth, he almost tripped himself trying not to bump into Sai, who had stopped abruptly in front of him. Sai turned and pointed to a large Red tent with the kanji for 'food' emblazoned on it's flaps in yellow script.

"Here we are," said Sai "Our own Konoha mess hall. Tent. Thing." Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed the green tent that Sakura had pointed out to him earlier that day. He motioned toward it.

"What's that tent over there, Sai?"

"That's our sleeping quarters. All of the Konoha Eleven and myself sleep there, Tsunade thought it would be important for us to be together." Naruto smiled at this.

"Not a bad idea, Baa-chan." Naruto's stomach growled involuntarily once more, and he rubbed it sheepishly. "I guess it's time we got some food." Sai nodded in agreement.

"Yes, and I'm sure everyone else will want to see you, they should have started eating already." He motioned back towards the dining tent. "Follow me." With that, Naruto followed Sai into the large red tent, eager to see his friends and fill the empty pit that was currently his stomach.

/

The first thing Naruto noticed as he and Sai entered the dining tent was how intricately designed it seemed from the inside. They had entered into a small, closed off section of the tent filled with mats and small compartments for their shoes. On the other end of the small area, Naruto saw another set of flaps, behind which he could smell the unmistakable aroma of meat cooking and hear the casual conversation of familiar voices. The smile already present on his face widened. He and Sai quickly removed their shoes and made their way past the second flap.

Naruto felt a familiar warmth flow through him as he entered the dining tent's main chamber to find every one of the Konoha Eleven eating and talking with one another around a single table with a grill at it's center. Chouji and Kiba with Akamaru sat close to one another, both of them eating large plates of what appeared to be barbecued beef with gusto, while Shikamaru watch them with mild interest from across the table. Shino sat quietly next to him with a bowl of rice, and Lee and Tenten chatted with one another farther down. Finally, Ino, Hinata and Sakura seemed to be having a lively debate about something at the end of the table, a bottle of sake sitting between the three of them.

"Hello everyone," Sai announced as they entered, "Sorry I'm late." The ninja sitting around the table all looked up. Chouji and Kiba momentarily stopped the steady flow of food to their mouths.

"Sai, welcome back." Kiba greeted with a smile. Then, looking past him, he asked, "Who's your friend there?" All eyes in the tent fell on Naruto.

"Kiba, I'm hurt." Naruto said teasingly as he removed the scarf that hid his face. "You can't even recognize your good friend!"

"Naruto!" Ino exclaimed from the other side of the table, smiles having sprung to the faces of all present in the tent. Kiba jumped from his seat and clapped him happily on the back.

"Looks like the man of the hour decided to finally stop getting his beauty rest!" he motioned to two open spots at the table. "Have a seat, you've gotta be starving!" As Naruto and Sai took the open seats, Chouji heaped a large helping of his own food onto an empty plate. Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What?" the Akamichi shrugged, beaming. "If I'm going to give up food for anyone, it's going to be you today, Naruto."

"Thanks Chouji, coming from you, that means a lot!" Naruto graciously accepted the plate and began eating in a similar fashion to the way Chouji and Kiba had been when they arrived. Perhaps it was because he hadn't eaten decent food for such a long time, or simply because he was starving, but the meal tasted better than he had ever remembered food tasting. "So," Naruto said, his mouth full of half-chewed beef. "How's everyone been the past five days?"

"Despite all the troublesome work we had to do setting this place up, things have actually gone pretty smoothly around here." Shikamaru replied, swirling the last bit of his drink around in his glass.

"I still can't believe everyone made this entire camp in two days." Naruto said after finally taking a pause in his meal. He looked at Shikamaru and Ino, his tone becoming serious. "Shikamaru, Ino, Sai told me about the ceremony… I'm sorry about your dads." To Naruto's surprise, a small smile appeared on Shikamaru's face.

"Don't be. Mine and Ino's dads might not have lived through this war, but they helped us finish it. Besides, they had time through Inoichi's mental link to say goodbye to me and Ino, which is more than most people can say." Ino nodded, flashing a teary smile.

"Yeah, they would have wanted to go out protecting all of us, and they did that pretty well, I think."

"I would agree!" Lee added with his usual zeal. "It was their battle plan that helped save countless others!"

"Well then," Naruto began, raising the glass of water that had been placed in front of him. "Since I missed the ceremony, I'd like to propose a toast to Shikamaru and Ino's dads, Neji, and everyone else who gave everything for us!" The rest of the room followed suit, raising their glasses into the air.

"Kampai!" they all said in unison before taking a swig of their drinks.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata said as she placed her glass back down on the table. "That was very sweet of you." Naruto wondered to himself if Hinata had had too much to drink, because her cheeks had turned a bright shade of pink.

"Don't mention it, Hinata" Naruto said, smiling once more. "I just wish I could have been there with everyone during the ceremony."

"I'm sure Konoha will have it's own ceremony when we go home, Naruto." Sakura replied reassuringly, "You'll have your chance to pay your respects then." At Sakura's reply, a thought occurred to Naruto.

"That reminds me, how long exactly are all of the villages planning on staying in this camp?" Naruto asked.

"As far as I know, just as long as it takes for those who are badly wounded to be cleared for travel, so a few more days at most." Shikamaru answered.

"I think the Samurai have already started traveling back to the land of Iron," Tenten added. "I think they only left a few high-ranking soldiers behind to be apart of any diplomatic decisions.

Next to Naruto, Chouji had already filled and finished his plate once more, and now pushed his empty plate away satisfied.

"I only hope we stick around until tomorrow at least." He said, rubbing his stomach happily. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Why? What's so special about tomorrow?" The ninja in the dining tent exchanged knowing glances with one another. Ino leaned in towards Naruto intently.

"There's word going around that the Kages are planning some big celebration for tomorrow night, to let everyone sort of blow off steam." She glanced impishly at Shikamaru. "Shika's _girlfriend_ from the Sand village told him about it after she talked to the Kazekage."

"For the last time Ino, Temari is _not_ my girlfriend!" Shikamaru rubbed his temples irritably. "We're just friends."

"Perhaps you could be 'friends with benefits'," Sai added in an attempt to be helpful. "In the books I've read-"

"I think that's all we need to hear about your damn books, Sai." Shikamaru interrupted quickly, receiving laughter from the entire tent. Kiba stretched in his chair before rising to his feet.

"Well, if there is a huge party coming our way tomorrow, Akamaru and I are going to be well rested for it. We're heading back to the barracks. Several of the others around the table nodded in agreement.

"Bed does sound pretty nice right now," Tenten yawned.

"Naruto, you could always come back to the barracks with us," Chouji added. "We have some extra cots you could sleep on." Naruto nodded, he liked the idea of continuing his night with his friends. But before he could respond, Sakura had a firm grip on the back of his shirt.

"Oh no you don't, Naruto Uzumaki." She said sternly. "You need at least one more night of actual rest before you're doing anything, and I don't see a good nights sleep happening with you goofing off all night." She headed towards the entrance of the tent, Naruto in tow. "I'm taking Naruto back to his tent, I'll be back afterwards." Naruto waved sheepishly at his friends before vanishing outside with Sakura.

/

As the two of them walked back toward his tent, Naruto realized how late it had become. The fires that had previously roared with life were little more than embers now, and the camp seemed all but deserted with its inhabitants sound asleep in their tents. All the light now came from a very bright full moon that washed the earth in its cool glow.

"Time really flew by tonight, huh?" Naruto asked. Sakura smiled.

"It always does when you get to be with your friends." She shot Naruto a glance. "I just still can't believe Chouji actually _shared _food with you." Naruto laughed, and again felt the sharp pain in his side.

"Sakura-chan, don't make me laugh," he joked. "I might actually fall apart."

"Oh, right! Sorry."

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. But finally Naruto broke the silence as he cleared his throat.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Sakura looked at towards him.

"Yes, what is it Naruto?" He scratched his head.

"While we were walking together, Sai told me about what happened when Madara took Kurama out of me, and what you did." He gave her a grin. "It sounds like I might not have been here if it weren't for you, so I just wanted to say-"

"Thanks?" Sakura finished for him, giggling. "You've been thanking me a lot since you woke up, Naruto." Naruto shrugged.

"Well you did save my life after all, Sakura-chan." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sure, I saved your life. But do you have any idea how many times over the course of our lives, or hell, even just during the war, that you've saved me? I promise you; the numbers don't come out quite even."

He and Sakura had already made it to the outskirts of the camp and had once again begun to climb the hill's incline back up to his tent.

"Even so, Sakura-chan, I still want to…" Once they had reached the top of the hill, Sakura spun around and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek, causing his argument to die in his throat. He knew he had intended to argue this with Sakura more, but now he couldn't for the life of him remember what he had even been talking about.

"There," Sakura said, smiling. "Now we're even." Then, just as quickly as she had come, Sakura had begun her descent back down the hill. "I know you're probably not tired, but try and sleep some more so that you're fully rested for tomorrow." Sakura called back to Naruto. "Good night!"

Naruto had a moment of déjà vu as he watched Sakura walk down his hill once more. He brought a hand up to the place she had kissed him on his cheek.

"Night, Sakura…" he said back, though not loud enough for her to hear. He smiled to himself. Heaving a sigh, Naruto turned back towards his tent, stretching his arms and legs as he went. "I guess I'd better try and find a way to sleep again," he said to himself. "I'd hate to sleep through a party."

Naruto knew that with all of the things swimming through his restless mind, sleep would not come easily to him. Still, one thought overshadowed the rest, one that filled him with a great sense of peace.

It was good to be back.


	4. Chapter 3: A Hero's Welcome

Hey everyone, here's chapter three. Hope you all enjoy! And Happy Easter, Passover, Festivus, Velocirapture, or whatever other holiday you celebrate!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Naruto franchise. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter Three: A Hero's Welcome **

Sakura quietly weaved her way through the maze of tents that made up the main camp of the United Ninja Army. She absently glance up at the moon, whose position in the sky told her instantly that it was well past midnight. Normally, she might have wondered to herself how she had let the time get away from her. Currently though, her mind was preoccupied with other, more pressing concerns.

Namely, why had she kissed Naruto only moments ago? It had only been a simple kiss on the cheek, sure, and it wasn't as though she had planned on doing it. A quick peck on the cheek was no different than a hug; she'd even heard it said that a kiss on the cheek was a way of greeting amongst the people of The Land of Water. No, she reasoned, it had been a perfectly normal, friendly show of affection.

So why didn't if _feel_ that way?

Sakura shook her head as though the action might free her mind from the haze of confusion she now found herself in.

"What is wrong with me?" she wondered to herself under her breath. "I must just be feeling out of it…"

Lost in thought, Sakura hadn't noticed she had arrived at the Konoha sleeping tent until she had almost passed it by. Laughing softly at her own expense, she doubled back to the opening and passed through the green-flapped entrance. Similar to their dining tent, the sleeping tent entered first into a small foyer, where the shoes and coats of her friends now hung neatly upon makeshift hangers. The only notable difference lay in the two distinct entryways on the opposite side of the area; the left which led to the boys' beds, and the right to the girls'. To Sakura's relief, a faint glow emanated from behind the entrance to the right.

_Good_, She thought to herself, _talking with Ino and the others will help set my mind straight._ Slipping her knee-high boots off and tucking them into her cubby hole, Sakura quietly entered the girl's room. As she entered, she found Ino and Tenten huddled excitedly around Hinata on her bed, talking in hushed voices. At the sound of her foot steps, the heads of all three girls snapped towards Sakura. Sakura raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"You're not all planning to murder me, are you?" she asked jokingly as she made her way over to them. Ino, who had forsaken her uniform for the night for an oversized light purple t-shirt shook her head furiously.

"Of course not, Billboard Brow!" she whispered excitedly. "We're talking about something serious!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean? What's up?"

"You know how Shikamaru was saying there was going to be some sort of celebration tomorrow?" Tenten elaborated. "Well Hinata's just told us that she wants to ask a certain _someone_ to go with her!" Hinata, whose face had already been tinted a few shades pinker than usual, reddened deeper.

"Keep your voice down, Tenten…" she said meekly.

Sakura raised her eyebrows, genuinely surprised. Such bold behavior out of Hinata was a rare thing indeed. "Wow Hinata, that's great!" she whispered. "Who's the lucky guy?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious, Sakura? It's _Naruto_ of course!"

Sakura felt a slight shiver run up her spine.

"Naruto?!" she exclaimed louder than she meant to, eliciting a shushing noise from the other three girls. "You're asking Naruto to go with you tomorrow?" Sakura asked again, having readjusted her voice to a more suitable volume. Hinata nodded her head slowly.

"Well, I just figured… Since it was going to be a celebration, It might be nice to spend some time celebrating with Naruto-kun…"

Sakura smiled weakly. "That's a nice idea Hinata, but I- Shikamaru didn't say anything about it being a _date_ thing, you know? And-"

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper, Sakura!" Ino chided, "Just because it isn't a formal dance or something doesn't mean you can't ask someone to go with you." She nudged Hinata playfully. "We've been trying to convince her go and ask him now, while she still has the nerve!"

"Hey, you just walked him back to his tent, didn't you Sakura?" Tenten asked, leaning closer. "Was he still awake?"

"Yeah!" Ino added excitedly, "Do you think Hinata would have a chance to ask him now?" Tenten, Ino, and Hinata all looked expectantly up at Sakura from Hinata's bed.

Sakura felt her ears start to burn. Naruto had definitely been awake when she had left. It would only take Hinata about fifteen minutes to make it to Naruto's tent as long as she hurried. Naruto would most likely still be awake by then, so she could probably-

"He's not awake!" She blurted so suddenly her friends jumped. "I-I mean, he was pretty tired when we got to his tent, so knowing him he's probably dead asleep by now." The words had tumbled out of Sakura's mouth clumsily, almost involuntarily, and she scratched her face timidly. "Sorry, Hinata!"

Ino and Tenten sunk slightly, their excitement tempered. Hinata's nervousness seemed to dissipate slightly as well.

"Oh, I guess I'll just ask him tomorrow, then." She said softly.

"Alright, but you'd better do it, Hinata!" Ino said, regaining some of her previous zeal. She sighed. "Maybe I'll ask Sai to go, or maybe some cute exotic guy from another village!" Tenten nodded dreamily.

"Yeah, one with a nice butt… Hey Sakura, are you going to ask anyone?"

Sakura shook her head, flustered by the entire conversation. "I don't know, I'm pretty tired now- so maybe? I'll see how I feel tomorrow- good night!" She answered in choppy half-sentences. Sakura started towards her bed, but quickly turned and added, "Good luck tomorrow, Hinata!" before shedding her uniform and crawling into her own cot. As Tenten and Ino continued to whisper to one another about their potential exotic mystery dates for the following day, Sakura wrapped her blanket tightly around herself.

_Why the __hell__ did I say all that just now?_ She thought, mentally kicking herself. _I must be losing my damn mind…_ _Maybe a good night's sleep will help me remember where I left my sanity._

So, doing her best to block out the excited murmurs of her friends, as well as her own questions bubbling up to the top of her mind, Sakura drifted off to sleep, her face feeling hotter and redder than she cared for anyone else in the tent to see.

* * *

Naruto meanwhile was faring no better than he had expected in his battle to once again force himself to sleep. He had tossed and turned in his cot for what seemed like hours, attempting to find a position that would finally make him comfortable enough to lull him into oblivion, but so far he had been spectacularly unsuccessful. His second idea had been to exercise and drain his body of some of it's unwanted energy. After his first stomach crunch had sent a jolt of blinding pain surging through his abdomen, however, Naruto had concluded that incurring Sakura's wrath for tearing his stitches was not in his best interests. Finally, Naruto had attempted to bore himself to sleep by thumbing through the pages of one of the thick medical textbooks that Sakura had left in his tent. Much to his dismay, Naruto had found that the obscure terminology and overly-complicated diagrams contained within the book were so far beyond his own knowledge that he couldn't focus on the words long enough for the tired malaise of boredom to overcome him. Frustrated, he tossed the book haphazardly onto his bedside table and exited his tent.

Naruto sat on the grassy hillside outside of his tent in his white hospital clothing, which he had been using as pajamas of sorts. He was looking up at the Moon, which was full and bright in the sky.

_It's strange to think everyone could be looking up at this same moon, slack-jawed and drooling, while Madara fed on our chakra with his genjutsu. _He thought darkly. A cool breeze blew past, making him shiver. Naruto didn't like to contemplate just how close Madara had been to trapping every person on the continent in his twisted vision of so-called perfection. The most disturbing image that came to his mind though, had been the thought of Sakura slowly wasting away under the influence of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Naruto shook his head violently, pushing the grim images from his thoughts. He would never allow something like that to happen to Sakura while he still had life left in him.

His hand once more found its way to his cheek where Sakura had kissed him only hours before. He felt a warmth he knew all too well begin to grow in his chest. _That_ had most certainly not been an illusion. She _had_ kissed him, if only just on the cheek. A smile found its way to his face.

Her lips had been soft and warm, just as he had always imagined. He couldn't help but let his mind replay the memory over and over in his head, relishing every minute detail. He sighed.

"It was good while it lasted."

"What was good while it lasted?" Naruto felt his heart stop briefly as a low voice responded from behind him. He was on his feet in a fraction of a second, and had whirled around in a combat stance to face the newcomer in another. Instead of an enemy, however, Naruto was greeted with the familiar dark-rimmed blue eyes of Gaara, the current Kazekage and his friend. Naruto realized immediately why Gaara had been able to approach him undetected, as he was currently hovering several inches off the ground on a small layer of sand. Breathing a sigh of relief, Naruto lowered his defense and flopped back on to the ground.

"Shit Gaara, you scared the hell out of me."

With a wave of his hand, the sand underneath his feet dissipated, and his feet landed on the grassy hill next to Naruto.

"My apologies," he said in his similar stolid fashion. "I didn't mean to startle you, Naruto." Naruto waved off his apology and motioned for him to sit on the grass next to him. Complying, Gaara situated himself on the hill about a foot away.

"So what's up?" Naruto asked, "It's a little late for a visit, don't you think?" Gaara shrugged.

"I was simply making my routine rounds about the camp when I noticed that you sitting here. I figured you wouldn't mind some company."

Naruto gave his friend a look of befuddlement. "Wait, you're usually up patrolling the camp at this hour? Don't you sleep?" Gaara shook his head.

"I may no longer be Shukaku's Jinchuriki, and he may no longer keep me awake with nightmares; but sleep still does not come easily to me, Uzumaki." Naruto remembered back to when he had first encountered Gaara during the chunin exams. He distinctly remembered hearing about how the One-Tailed beast Shukaku, who had been sealed inside Gaara, would torment his host by giving him horrible nightmares and deprive him of sleep. Naruto had always been grateful that while cruel and destructive, his own tailed beast had never tortured him in a similar fashion.

At the thought of Kurama, or the Nine Tails as he had previously been known, Naruto's heart sank. The pair had certainly had a tumultuous relationship over the years, but the old fox had been apart of him his entire life, and had just recently come around from his darker nature. Now, he possessed only a fraction of Kurama's and the other tailed beasts' chakras within himself, the rest still trapped within the Demon Statue. Worse still was the fact that despite Naruto's best efforts, he had been completely and utterly incapable of communicating with Kurama or any of the other tailed beasts as he had before. He would occasionally register thought or a feeling that was distinctly not his own, but no other evidence of the creatures' consciousnesses inside of him existed.

Seemingly reading Naruto's mind, Gaara added, "We'll find a way to free them, Naruto. Kurama and Shukaku and the others, I mean."

Naruto raised his head to look at Gaara, whose normally stoic eyes now glinted with confidence behind his words. Naruto smiled. He had forgotten that he hadn't been the only one to lose a friend in his tailed beast. Gaara and Killer B would also be looking for a way to free the beasts from the Demon Statue, and they were some of the most skilled shinobi Naruto had ever met. With them working together, he thought, they were sure to find a solution.

"I'm sure we will, Gaara." Naruto replied, regaining some of his bravado. "You, me, and B all want to free the tailed beasts, and we've even got the biggest army in history to help do it." The corners of Gaara's lips turned upward ever-so-slightly, which for Gaara was equivalent to a genuine smile.

"I think you'll find that some people might prefer the tailed beasts to stay locked away; but on the whole, yes, having an army at our disposal doesn't hurt." Naruto and Gaara sat in silence for a moment, both simply enjoying the other's company. "So," Gaara began after awhile, "What were you talking about when I arrived?"

Naruto felt color return to his face as he remembered his encounter with Sakura once more. "Oh, that was nothing! Just talking to myself." He said unconvincingly.

"Was it about Sakura?"

Naruto was taken aback by the frank accuracy of Gaara's question. "W-what?" he sputtered, "Gaara, how did you-"

Gaara motioned at his face. "Uzumaki, in all the years I've known you, the only time you make the face I saw you with when I arrived is when you're looking at that pink-haired teammate of yours." He smiled again. "For a ninja, you're extraordinarily easy to read." Naruto couldn't help but chuckle sheepishly; he'd been caught red-handed after all.

"Okay, maybe I _was _thinking about Sakura-chan, but it was nothing, really." A sad smile found its way to his face. "I'm just letting myself dream a little…"

Gaara stared questioningly at Naruto. "Dream? What do mean?"

"Well…" Naruto began slowly, " I know Sakura's in love with… someone else, someone I've promised to bring back to her… but sometimes I can't help but let myself think that things might be different." He shook his head. "I know that probably sounds pretty dumb, doesn't it?" Instead of answering though, Gaara simply sat staring at Naruto with an unreadable expression on his face. After several seconds of silence that had begun to make Naruto feel awkward, Gaara finally opened his mouth.

"I am not a person with much experience when it comes to love," said Gaara. He was clearly choosing his words very carefully. "But I do have a great deal of personal experience with regards to people's ability to change." Naruto's eyebrows rose in interest, but allowed his friend to continue. "When you and I first met, I was filled with hatred, Uzumaki. It was so much apart of me that I couldn't image myself _without_ it. After you defeated me during the chunin exams however, you didn't just kill me like I would have expected anyone else to do; you said you understood me." He sighed, looking Naruto directly in the eyes. "You proved to me that there were things that existed outside of my hatred. You changed my most basic feelings towards the world, something no one else had ever been able to do." Gaara looked out over the ninja camp. "You have a gift for changing the hearts of people around you, Naruto. I wouldn't be so sure that you haven't managed to change Sakura's heart as well. Besides," Gaara glanced back at Naruto, smiling once more. "You never give up. Isn't that your ninja way?"

Naruto laughed softly, running a hand through his messy blonde hair. "That it is, Gaara. That it is. Thanks for reminding me."

"Any time, Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara rose from the side of the hill, a cloud of sand beginning to once again form under his feet. Naruto watched as the sand condensed into a platform and slowly began to lift his friend into the air. "You should get some rest, I suspect you'll be called to meet with the Kages tomorrow."

"Right, I'll be there. Thanks again, Gaara." Naruto stood, brushing stray blades of grass from his pants. Gaara had only just begun to float away when Naruto suddenly remembered the discussion he had had during dinner that evening. "Hey Gaara!" he called, causing the Kazekage to stop his ascent and look back. "I heard there's going to be a party or something tomorrow night; you wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Gaara shrugged. "What, you want me to ruin the surprise, Uzumaki? Besides, do you know how difficult it is to keep a secret from an army of _ninja_? No, you'll just have to wait and see for yourself, I think." With a final wave goodbye, Gaara had drifted off into the night sky. As Naruto watched him go, he stretched lazily, noticing for the first time how heavy his eyelids seemed to have gotten.

"Finally." He breathed, as he made his way back inside his tent. Amongst the other things Gaara had done for him that evening, it seemed Naruto would also have to thank him for finally breaking his insomnia. Crawling into his bed, Naruto stared drowsily up at the canopy of his tent, Gaara's words still echoing in his mind. _Gaara's right, _he mused to himself, _I can't- no, I won't give up on Sakura-chan. Maybe tomorrow, I'll…I'll…_ Naruto barely registered his thoughts slip away from him as his mind drifted gratefully to sleep.

* * *

When Naruto awoke the next morning, he felt truly refreshed for the first time since the war had begun. He hadn't known it before, but Sakura had been right, his body really did need the extra rest. He stretched his arms and legs before swinging his legs over the side of his bed to start his day. Though, he thought with a laugh, it wouldn't surprise him if he didn't need to sleep again for the next month, given all the time he had spent sleeping this past week. Naruto leisurely changed into his trademark orange jumpsuit, which had apparently been mended while he had been unconscious, and tied his Konoha forehead protector snugly in place.

_Maybe I'll go find Sakura-chan and ask her to lunch_, Naruto thought as he exited his tent. He grinned._ Maybe she knows someone who can make a bowl of ramen in this camp!_ Naruto found the prospect of combining time with Sakura and his first bowl of ramen in months almost too appealing for words.

That's why when Naruto spotted Kakashi making his way up the hill in his direction, he was markedly less enthusiastic than he might usually have been. Kakashi waved nonchalantly as he approached.

"Yo." The silver-haired jonin greeted. Naruto waved halfheartedly back.

"I have a feeling you're not here to direct me to the nearest bowl of ramen." Naruto replied morosely. Kakashi eye-smiled.

"You would be correct, apologies. Since you're feeling better, the Kages have requested a meeting to debrief you on your part in the war."

Naruto sighed. Gaara had warned him the previous night that a meeting like this was imminent, and the idea of answering an endless stream of questions about his activities during the war didn't sound anywhere near a good as lunch with Sakura.

Seeing his former pupil's clear look of discontentment, Kakashi added, "I'll make sure they don't keep you for too long, promise. Then we'll see about getting you some ramen." Naruto perked up somewhat.

"Alright Kakashi-sensei, but you're buying!" Kakashi laughed.

"I don't think you'd be able to find anyone here who would take your money anyway, Naruto, but you've got a deal." Kakashi began his decent down the hill and motioned for Naruto to follow. Now resigned to his fate, Naruto started after him.

_I'll go looking for Sakura afterward_, he thought. _Maybe she'll want to go to this mystery celebration with me tonight!_

"So where are we headed?" Naruto asked, matching his stride to Kakashi's. The older ninja pointed towards the opposite end of the camp.

"The Kage tent is located near the northern end of the camp," he explained. "We'll be meeting with them there. Oh, and hold onto this." Kakashi fished into one of the pouches on his vest and handed Naruto a pen. Naruto eyed it quizzically as he took it.

"What's this for?" Kakashi only eye-smiled once more.

"You'll see."

Naruto didn't have to wait long to understand why Kakashi had given him pen, As the moment the neared the thicket of tents, he began to hear excited murmurs rumble from the ninja who had seen them approach.

"That one, that's Naruto Uzumaki!" he heard one of them say.

"You can tell by that blonde hair!" said another.

Growing up, Naruto had been used to hearing these sorts of hushed conversations about him as he passed, though they had usually been more on the topic of how he was some sort of monster or a demon child. Now though, these people were _praising_ him, whispering words like "hero" and "savior" as he passed. Naruto blushed, somehow the positive attention made him much more self-conscious than the jeering remarks he had received in his youth.

It wasn't long until one of the many spectators that he and Kakashi passed finally mustered up the courage to approach them. It was a girl, Naruto guessed a few years younger than him, with mid-length dark red hair. She wore a forehead protector imprinted with the symbol of the United Ninja Army, but Naruto could tell by her clothing that she was from the Hidden Cloud Village. She shuffled timidly towards the pair, only glancing up to Naruto's face for seconds at a time before averting her gaze, embarrassed.

"U-umm… E-excuse me." She stuttered. "Are… are you…N-naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto smiled warmly. "That's me," he replied, placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "What's your name?" The girl looked surprised between Naruto's hand resting on her shoulder and up at his face. Her face turned beet-red.

"I-I'm A-akagi, sir." Naruto laughed.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Akagi. And you don't have to call me sir, Naruto works just fine."

Seemingly less nervous than she had been a moment before, Akagi smiled happily at Naruto. Then, seemingly remembering why she had approached him in the first place, the girl hastily removed her forehead protector.

"Sir- I mean Naruto… I was wondering if, well, if maybe you could sign my headband?" She fidgeted nervously. "You're just the one who saved us, and I-" Akagi stopped talking as Naruto took the forehead protector from her hands, popped the top from the pen that Kakashi had given him, and signed his name on it's cloth back. He handed it back to a wide-eyed Akagi.

"There you go, Akagi!" Naruto beamed. "Sorry my handwriting's a little messy." He gave her a thumbs-up. "And I'm sure you did just as much to protect people as I did, so thanks!" Akagi's blush quickly returned to her features.

"T-Thank you, Naruto!" she said timidly before scurrying back off into the crowd.

Naruto didn't have enough time to say goodbye as other ninja, young and old, began to crowd around him, seemingly emboldened by Akagi's success. Some simply wished to congratulate and thank him, others wanted to shake his hand, and still others wanted items of their own to be signed. One particularly brave kunoichi had even given him a kiss on his cheek and whispered what had sounded to Naruto like directions to her tent, which had caused him to blush profusely and clumsily offer his thanks for her interest.

_I guess I know why Sai had me wear that scarf the last time!_ Naruto thought to himself.

It took Naruto and Kakashi almost a half hour to make their way out of the crowd, and when they finally managed to turn into a less inhabited section of the camp, Kakashi sighed in relief.

"Well, _that_ should be a healthy boost to your ego." Naruto blushed.

"It definitely beats being called a demon-freak. I just never thought I'd get _that_ much attention." Kakashi chuckled.

"That sort of thing will happen to you when you save the world. Ah, here we are." Kakashi had stopped in front of a grandiose-looking deep-purple tent, the symbols of each ninja village lining it's top. "The Kages should be waiting for us in here. You-"

"You foolhardy, reckless idiot!" A familiar voice boomed from behind them. Naruto barely had time to turn around before none other than Tsunade had him locked in a bear hug. "You had me scared half to death!" she said half admonishingly, half affectionately. She pulled away, holding his shoulders firmly. "Don't go running off like that on your own again, that's an order."

Naruto smiled. "I'm glad to see you too, Baa-san." This turned out to be a poor choice of words, as the Hokage delivered a solid blow to Naruto's skull.

"Call me Tsunade-sama, damn it!" he said sternly. Her authoritative air faded as a warm smile appeared on her face. "I'm glad you're alright, Naruto."

_You have a weird damn way of showing it!_ Naruto thought as he rubbed his now throbbing head, deciding it was not in his best interests to voice his reply aloud.

"Anyway," Tsunade began, once more adopting a more professional demeanor. "I just stepped outside briefly to check on some things, the rest of the Kages are waiting in the tent." She strode forward and pulled back the flap. "We should head in." Naruto and Kakashi nodded before following Tsunade into the tent.

As the three of them entered the tent, Naruto saw all the Kages and Mifune, the Shogun from the Land of Iron, seated around an impressive-looking rectangular table. Naruto subtly nodded in Gaara's direction, Gaara nodding back just as subtly.

"Lord Kages," Tsunade announced as she entered the room and took a vacant seat on the opposite side of the table, "As you can see, Naruto has finally arrived. I believe we are able to begin this meeting now properly." The Raikage nodded his approval and motioned to the open chair across from him.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he said with his usual commanding air, "have a seat." Naruto silently complied as Kakashi took his place standing by the door. The large man paused a moment, seeming to size-up Naruto. Finally, he said, "From what I understand, we have quite a bit to thank you for." Naruto began to object, but The Raikage held up his massive remaining hand, silencing him. "Your modesty will do you no good here, boy. You are a hero, plain and simple." The Mizukage, who had been occupied eyeing Kakashi from her seat, turned her attention to Naruto.

"It's true, Naruto. Without your contributions, we might very well not be here talking with one another." The Tsuchikage crossed his arms and nodded.

"Indeed. What we'd like to know from you today though, child, is exactly what transpired between you, Madara, and Uchiha Sasuke at the of the war."

Naruto cringed inwardly. He had guessed they would want him to discuss Sasuke, but it had done little to prepare him for what was sure to be a long and unpleasant conversation. Naruto sighed deeply.

"Well, I guess the best place to start would be when Madara was first resurrected…"

For what seemed to Naruto like an eternity, he told the story of his and Sasuke's fight against Madara, his own near death experience, and how ultimately it had been Sasuke who had landed the killing blow against the other Uchiha. Some of the Kage had asked him brief questions to clarify their own information, but they had let him speak largely uninterrupted. When Naruto finally finished, Mifune leaned back into his chair.

"That was… quite a story." The wizened old Samurai said, bemused.

"Are you sure you can't remember anything more about where the Uchiha might have gone?" Onoki pushed, resting his hands upon the table. Naruto shook his head.

"I'm sorry Lord Tsuchikage, that's all I remember. I'm just as in the dark as you are as to where Sasuke went." Onoki grunted.

"Yes, well, I suppose it would have been too much to ask for you to know where he might have gone. Thank you for your cooperation, Naruto. We'll see to it that you are properly commended during tonight's festivities."

Naruto blinked. "So that's all?" he asked. "I'm free to go?" Tsunade nodded.

"That's all Naruto, thank you. I'll find you when we finish up here." Naruto rose from his seat and bowed.

"Thank you for your time, Lord Kages." He then turned on his heel and headed towards the exit to the tent, Kakashi falling in next to him. Naruto had just extended his hand to lift the flap of the tent, when something stopped him. He had just barely heard it, as the faintest of whispers. The sound of the Raikage's voice.

"Let Kumo deal with the Uchiha," he had whispered. "He has crimes to answer for."

Naruto stood, frozen in place out of site from where the Kages now sat. he felt as powerful anger began to boil up from inside him.

"And let _you_ have control of the Rinnegan? I think not!" Hissed the Tsuchikage. "Clearly Iwagakure is best suited to-"

"Sasuke Uchiha is a _Konoha_ missing-nin!" Tsunade whispered back firmly. "We will deal with him, and the Rinnegan in a just and timely way!"

"You've had _four years_ to deal with the Uchiha, Miss Hokage." Onoki spat back. "I think it's become painfully apparent that you-"

"All of you _**SHUT THE FUCK UP**_!"Naruto had reappeared in front of the Kage's table, his fist now buried several inches within it's wooden top. He loomed over the table with such an imposing air that even the Raikage recoiled slightly from him. His eyes scanned the room, flashing dangerously. "How _**dare**_ you bring me in here, talking about all the good I've done, and try and keep your plans to _murder_ Sasuke from me!" he clenched his teeth. "I have _**earned**_ the right to speak my piece on Sasuke's fate, and I won't stand by and watch you all throw him to the fucking dogs!"

The room was deathly quiet. Tsunade and Gaara refused to meet his gaze. The Tsuchikage started to speak.

"Now, see here, boy-"

"No, _you_ see here, old man!" Naruto cut him off, pushing his fist further into the table, resulting in a loud cracking noise. "Look at what you're all doing! The blood hasn't even dried on the battlefield and you're all already at each others' throats again!" He spat onto the floor. "You call yourselves the heads of the _United_ Ninja Army. You're _spitting_ on the sacrifice every one of your people made in this war to bring about peace!"

Now none of the people seated at the table dared to look him in the eye.

"It's a disgrace to _everything _we've been fighting to build!_"_

Suddenly, from the entrance of the tent, a very tired looking Shizune burst into the chamber, desperately attempting to catch her breath.

"Lord Kages!" she breathed heavily. Naruto whirled around, anger still burning through his features.

"_What_?" he said caustically. Shizune faltered briefly, taken aback.

"I- well, It's Obito. He's woken up."

The entire tent went silent.


	5. Chapter 4: Redemption

Hello again everyone! If you're up to date on the manga, :**spoilers ahead**: you'll indeed realize that our journey here in fanfic-land has led us off the beaten path of canon plot-points. Namely, Sasuke doesn't magically get a shiny new Rinnegan (still don't know how I feel about that) and Kakashi still has his Sharingan (_really_ disliked that). If there are any plot points in the coming manga chapters that I can tastefully mesh into my story, I'll do my best to do so.

Also, I apologize it took a little longer than usual to get this chapter out, I had a difficult time figuring out how I wanted to pace everything, and it sort of messed up my writing mojo. Hopefully subsequent chapters will be released closer to a once-a-week basis.

Anyway, let's get this under way…

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Naruto franchise. They are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Redemption**

Somewhere towards the northern end of the sprawling camp of the United Ninja Army, throngs of ninja who had only moments ago been happily immersed in their daily obligations had stopped. Some merely stood frozen in place, staring, while others whispered to one another curiously. All of them, however, had come to fix their eyes on one small group that was quickly making its way past.

One could scarcely blame them of course; it wasn't every day that eight of the most renowned and powerful ninja in history could be seen together in such a strange fashion.

The group consisted of a disheveled-looking woman leading Kakashi Hatake and the newly dubbed savior of the people Naruto Uzumaki briskly across the camp. Stranger still was the collection of the Five Kages and the shogun Mifune who followed several yards behind, packed together like gossiping schoolgirls in a huddled cluster. It wasn't until the shock of the sight had dissipated somewhat that one of the on looking ninja had the good sense to cheer. These were after all the leaders responsible for putting a stop to the war. Then, like a match to a powder keg, the masses quickly followed suit and began to cheer raucously for their heroes.

Normally, Naruto might have reveled in the cheers that were being showered upon him, but currently a deep and burning anger had muted the outside world to him. The Kages, figures that Naruto had idolized his entire life and had seen as bastions of hope during their war against Madara, had just proven themselves to be no less deceitful and mistrusting of one another that they would have been if they had been at war with each other. Naruto clenched his fists tightly, eliciting an audible crack from several of his knuckles.

_How, after everything we've done, can they still be so divided?_ Naruto seethed to himself. _It's like they don't even __**want**__ peace! _He looked icily back at the Kages who had wisely elected to follow from a safe distance. _And how could they have thought of killing Sasuke without even talking with me about it? Even Baa-chan and Gaara…_ At that moment, Naruto would have liked nothing better than to storm off, leaving his so-called superiors far behind, and find a secluded place where he could vent his anger alone.

Unfortunately, this was something Naruto knew he would have to wait for. Himself along with Kakashi, Shizune, and the Kages were currently making their way towards the massive medical centre located at the heart of the camp, all to pay a visit to the newly awakened Obito Uchiha. Under any other circumstances, Naruto would not have seen his presence in this meeting as necessary, but Shizune had told him that Obito had demanded to speak with Kakashi and Naruto, and would see no one else before. This had puzzled Naruto; he could understand Obito wanting to meet with his former teammate, but why him?

"Did Obito say anything else to you after he woke up?" Kakashi asked Shizune as they walked. The Kunoichi sighed and shook her head.

"No. Once he came to, he forced all the medical personnel out of his room and demanded that I bring you and Naruto to him at once. Trying to get anything else out of him after that was like talking to a wall." Kakashi rubbed his chin.

"I don't get it, Obito was _helping_ us by the end of the war. He was our ally. I don't know why he would be so distrustful of us now."

"There seems to be _a lot _of distrust going around." Naruto said bitterly beside them. Shizune recoiled slightly at his tone. Noticing this, Naruto felt a pang of guilt mix awkwardly into the dark maelstrom that was currently his mood. Deep underneath his anger, Naruto felt badly about snapping at Shizune back in the command tent. She hadn't had anything to do with the plans against Sasuke; she had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He resolved to apologize to her once his nerves had settled a bit more.

"He… he might just be trying to be cautious," Shizune added meekly, "He wasour enemy at the beginning of all this. If I were injured in the middle of the camp of people I was just at war with, I'd look for someone I trusted too." Kakashi nodded slowly at this.

"You bring up a good point, Shizune. Thanks" Shizune's face colored ever so slightly.

"Yeah… You're welcome. That's his tent over there." Shizune pointed to a tent that looked quite similar to Naruto's that stood just outside the cluster of massive white tents that made up the temporary field hospital. The one major difference, Naruto noted, were the two armed shinobi who stood like menacing statues on either side of the tent's entrance. As the group approached, the guards relaxed visibly.

"Nothing new to report, Shizune-sama." The guard to their left said, saluting.

"No one's been in or out since I left?" Shizune questioned, slowing her pace to a stop at the entrance of the tent. The guard shook his head definitively.

"Not a soul, ma'am."

"Good." Shizune turned around, addressing the group of Kages who had just warily made their approach. "My apologies, Lord Kages," She began as she lifted the flap of the tent for Kakashi and Naruto to enter. "But the patient asked to speak privately to Kakashi and Naruto before he meets with any other visitors."

"And _why_ are we taking orders from our prisoner?" Onoki barked, crossing his arms contemptuously. "I see no reason why we shouldn't-"

"Don't take it personally," Naruto said from over his shoulder. "He probably just wants to avoid being _murdered_." Practically spitting the last word from his mouth, Naruto turned and entered the tent, leaving a very quiet Tsuchikage behind. Outside Shizune let the flap fall back into place, and he and Kakashi were alone.

Almost alone, anyway. Naruto noticed immediately the lone figure in the room that looked more like a mummy than a man lying in a bed hooked up to several delicate-looking machines. The only part of Obito's body that wasn't covered in dense bandages was the relatively unscathed left side of his face. And of course, the lone light purple eye with rings expanding outward like ripples in a pool that was now fixed upon them both.

The Rinnegan.

"I was beginning to think they wouldn't let you meet with me." Obito rasped, his voice sounding much more ragged than Naruto remembered it being. "They're a paranoid bunch. Then again, I suppose I've given them reason to be." Naruto was unsure whether the grimace that appeared on Obito's face afterwards was his attempt at a smile, or simply a look of pain.

"You did start a war," Kakashi sighed, approaching the bedside. "You can hardly blame them." Obito grunted.

"How did it end?"

"The war, you mean? Naruto and Sasuke managed to bring Madara down. The Zetsus and those brought back by Edo Tensei just disintegrated after that." At this, Obito's eye flicked over to Naruto, who was still standing away from the bed.

"You, boy. Come here." Naruto stood there for a moment, taken aback, but obeyed. As he approached the bed beside Kakashi, Obito's hand shot up abruptly and gripped Naruto's arm firmly.

"Hey!" Naruto protested, startled. "What are you-"

"Are you sure you killed him?" Obito demanded, his single visible eye transfixed on him. "Are you absolutely sure he's gone?" The intensity of Obito's stare unnerved Naruto, and his arm was beginning to hurt under the elder ninja's surprisingly strong grip.

"Yes," he finally answered. "I'm sure he's gone. Unless he learned how to live without a head." Naruto met his gaze unflinchingly for a few long seconds before Obito finally released his arm.

"Good." Obito said tiredly. "Then it is truly over." His eye closed, and he waved lazily in Naruto's direction. "You may leave. I wish to speak to Kakashi alone now."

Naruto blinked. He hadn't known what to expect from his meeting with Obito, but he certainly didn't think it would be nothing more than one mundane question that could have been answered by any other person in the camp. Before he could stop himself, Naruto blurted out the first question that came to his mind.

"Is that it?"

But Obito had already focused his attention on Kakashi, speaking to his former teammate of things Naruto didn't quite follow in low, rough tones. Realizing he would gain nothing more by remaining in the tent, Naruto turned on his heel and left, annoyance further souring his mood. As he exited the tent, he passed Shizune and the group of village leaders who had been talking amongst themselves. He didn't say a word, and they had the sense to do the same. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Tsunade had made the slightest motion as if to say something to him, but stopped herself. Just as well, Naruto thought, he wouldn't have listened to anything she had to say anyway.

* * *

Naruto had quickly found his way to the outskirts of the camp. He was in no mood to deal with others at the moment, which became somewhat problematic in the middle of a camp filled with people who considered him their savior. No, he reasoned, it was far better for him, and everyone else for that matter, that he be alone now. He walked several yards outside the edge of the camp, heading back towards the general direction of his tent. Naruto had no real interest in returning to his temporary living space, but he knew it was removed from the rest of civilization, and he distinctly remembered a thicket of trees that lay just beside it that he could easily disappear into for a while to work through his frustration. Punching things always seemed to help him calm down, and better to punch the trunk of some old tree until his knuckles were bloody then to take a swing at one of the Kage.

Still, despite all of the anger and bitterness towards his superiors that now flooded his thoughts, his meeting with Obito had planted a small seed of suspicion that had firmly taken root in his mind.

_If he had only wanted to know that Madara was dead, why did he demand to see me?_ Naruto echoed inwardly. _He could have just as easily asked Kakashi and gotten the same answer. It just doesn't make sense._ Every last ninja instinct he had told him that there had been something more to his visit with Obito, some ulterior motive, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was…

A noise from behind him quickly brought Naruto's attention back to the world. He guessed he had been followed by another star-struck ninja from the camp, or perhaps Kakashi had caught up to him after an equally brief conversation with Obito. That is why when Naruto turned to see Shizune panting once again behind him, he was taken by surprise.

"I… swear… If I have to… run… anywhere else today…" Shizune huffed, wiping several large beads of sweat from her brow. She shot Naruto a sour look. "You're…faster…than I thought."

"I was in a hurry to leave." Naruto deadpanned. Then, remembering his earlier pledge, he added, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you earlier, Shizune. I was angry and I took it out on you, you didn't deserve that." Shizune's expression didn't change as he walked tiredly to Naruto's side. Catching her breath, she finally spoke once more.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. Kakashi told me what happened." Naruto's eyes flashed with anger.

"You think I should apologize to the _Kages_? They were plotting to kill Sasuke behind my back! They were undermining all the progress we had made towards real peace!" He began to walk away. "If you knew about all of that, maybe I shouldn't have bothered apologizing!" This time, Shizune did not shy away from him, and instead matched his stride along the camp's edge.

"You have a right to be angry, Naruto, but you don't know the whole story!" Shizune admonished. "Yes, some of the Kage wanted to find Sasuke and execute him, but can you blame them? If Sasuke has the Rinnegan, we could have another Madara on our hands before long!" When Naruto gave no reply, Shizune sped past and stopped abruptly in front of him, blocking his path. "Even so, do you honestly believe that Tsunade-sama and Gaara-sama would let anyone track down Sasuke without talking to you about it?"

"Yes!" Naruto snarled, trying to push his way past. "Because I _heard_ them talking about doing just that, Shizune! Tsunade-"

"Tsunade tried to meet with you the day you woke up to tell you everything before the meeting!" Shizune all but screamed. "Didn't Sakura tell you?"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond, do disprove Shizune's words, but a sudden memory crashed against his mind like a wave.

_Tsunade has requested that you meet with her as soon as you're able_. Those had been Sakura's instructions after he had woken up, but with the flurry of activity and news that had made up the last few days, he had completely forgotten them until now. Naruto had the sudden feeling being a child again.

"What about Gaara?" He asked quietly. It was less accusatory and more guilty curiosity that prompted his questioning now.

"From what I heard from Tsunade, Gaara refused to be apart of the conversation until you were involved." Shizune said more evenly than before.

Naruto's mind wandered back once more to the command tent earlier that day, replaying the exchange in his head. He realized that while the Kages had been arguing in their hushed voices, Gaara hadn't said a word. Naruto felt a knot form in his stomach as his anger turn on himself rather than the Kages. How could he have been so quick to assume the guilt of two people he had known and trusted for so long? Feeling very foolish, Naruto walked past Shizune to a nearby tree and slid down its trunk to sit at its base.

"I feel like a complete ass." He moaned into his hands. However bad his anger had made him feel before, his guilt now made him feel much, much worse.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you were really only _partially_ an ass." Naruto looked up at the sensation of a hand on his shoulder. Shizune had knelt down beside him, her face having adopted a more comforting expression. "You had the most right of anyone to have a say in what happens to Sasuke, and I think some of the others were too blinded by a sense of revenge to see that." Shizune smiled. "And I'm not sure what else you said to them, but I haven't seen the Kages _agreeing_ this much since the war started." This peaked Naruto's curiosity.

"Agreeing? What do you mean?" Naruto asked quizzically. "What have they been talking about?" Shizune shrugged, rising to her feet once more.

"'Dunno, they were keeping it pretty hush-hush, but from all the nodding I saw, they definitely looked more like the leaders of a _united_ ninja army." Naruto winced inwardly. While he had wanted them to come together, he had a feeling such sudden teamwork between the Kages so soon after he had finished calling them a disgrace to their offices wouldn't bode well for his future prospects. Shizune offered him a hand up, which he accepted.

"I should go apologize to Baa-chan and Gaara," Naruto started, but Shizune dismissed the notion with a wave of her arm.

"Don't bother right now, they've already run back to their command tent. Whatever they were talking about seemed important. You'll have a chance to talk with them tonight at the… um…"

"I already know about the party, Shizune, don't worry." Naruto spared her, amused. Shizune laughed lightly touching a hand to her forehead.

"Right, of course you do. I don't know whose idea it was to try and keep this damn thing a _secret_." She tilted her head in the direction Naruto and her had been walking. "Mind if I walk with you back to your tent? I've still only heard rumors about how you actually beat Madara."

Naruto nodded in agreement and began to walk. Curious, he added,

"What kind of rumors have you heard, exactly?" Shizune smiled.

"The best one I've heard is that you seduced him with your harem jutsu, and killed him while his guard was down."

Naruto grinned. He'd have to try that the next time the world was in danger.

* * *

Naruto's walk back to his tent with Shizune recounting his fight with Madara for the second time that day had done much to improve his mood. Since this was not a formal debriefing, Naruto was able to leave out the parts he didn't like remembering, and focused on the more thrilling bits of the skirmish. By the end, he found himself enthusiastically recounting each blow he had managed to land to a thoroughly engrossed Shizune.

"Wow!" Shizune breathed, "It sounds like it was a pretty amazing battle! I wish I could have been there to see it myself!" Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"You sure about that?" Shizune's look of astonishment wavered, replaced quickly by a nervous smile.

"Actually, hearing about it from you sounds… safer." She laughed. Shizune momentarily directed her attention in front of them, and quickly stopped. "It looks like we're here, Naruto." A playful smirk appeared on her features. "And it looks like someone has a guest."

"Huh?"

Naruto had been so involved with his story, that he hadn't noticed his solitary tent on the hill that now stood only a few yards away… or the purple-haired girl that now stood outside it. "What's Hinata doing at my tent?" he wondered allowed. Shizune shrugged.

"Guess you'll have to go and find out." She readjusted her direction towards the camp to their right. "Make sure you find Tsunade-sama and Gaara-sama tonight to apologize!" she added sternly.

Naruto nodded in response, waving as Shizune soon disappeared into the thicket of tents. After she was out of sight, Naruto turned his attention once more towards his tent and Hinata. He began to trudge up the hill, and as he came closer he raised his hand in greeting.

"Oi! Hinata!" he called. In front of his tent, Hinata jumped visibly and turned so quickly in Naruto's direction he thought she might fall. Breaking into a light jog, Naruto quickly closed the remaining space between them and came to a stop a few short feet away. "What's going on, Hinata?" he greeted once more, "can I help you with anything?" Naruto noticed that like the night before, Hinata's face seemed to fluctuate rapidly between her usual pale complexion and an almost concerning shade of red. _Hinata might want to go to one of the med tents_, he thought,_ she looks like she might be coming down with something_.

"H-hello, Naruto-kun!" she stammered. "I thought you w-were in your tent, so I…" she fidgeted for a moment before changing topics. "Have you heard anything else about the celebration tonight?" Naruto crossed his arms.

"Not yet, they've done a pretty good job so far keeping the details under wraps. You heard anything?" Hinata shook her head.

"No… nothing really." A pause followed her words as if she wasn't sure what to say next.

"Did you need help with something Hinata?" Naruto offered helpfully after a time. If it was at all possible, Hinata's face turned redder still.

"Well… I-I…" She began to wring her hands nervously at her waist. Naruto sighed inwardly. While Hinata had gotten much better since their childhood, she still had a habit of taking a painfully long time to get across things she was trying to say. Naruto always tried his best to be patient, but sometimes watching her struggle to find the right words was a pain in his…

Arm?

At first, Naruto thought he had been stung by a bee as a pinprick of burning pain bit at his left forearm. He winced and rubbed it distractedly. Hinata seemed too focused on her own message to notice.

"The c-celebration tonight… I didn't k-know if you were planning to go w-with…anyone…"

Naruto let out an audible grunt of pain as the stinging sensation seemed to spread across his arm like scalding water.

"I was t-thinking, that…that maybe w-we…"

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed as the pain in his arm intensified. Maybe he had injured it somehow? Finally, Hinata noticed Naruto's distress.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" she asked concernedly, "Are you hurt?"

"Something's wrong with my arm." He grunted through clenched teeth. "It feels like it's burning!" He tugged hard on his sleeve, hoping to discover the cause of the pain. When the tanned skin of his forearm was finally visible, both he and Hinata gasped.

Long lines of black glyphs that looked unlike any language Naruto had ever seen were appearing on his flesh as if an invisible hand were writing them. With the appearance of each new character, the burning sensation was reinvigorated. Hinata looked worriedly between Naruto's arm and his face.

"What is that?" she asked, fear laced in her voice. Naruto shook his head roughly, his eyes glued to the slowly growing marks on his arm.

"I… don't… know." He growled.

"We need to get you to the medical tent!" Hinata said with more urgency than before. "What if it's a curse mark, or some kind of torture jutsu, or-"

"Wait!" Naruto interrupted abruptly, "Look!"

Sure enough, the symbols' advance across his arm had slowed their progress and the pain Naruto felt had begun to dissipate. The burning sensation had all but gone when the last symbol completed itself. Naruto thought for a brief moment that it was over, until one final line of black script began to scrawl itself below the rest near the crease of his elbow. Unlike the rest of the symbols, these caused him no pain, and Naruto quickly realized that this final line was no longer written in some alien language. Instead, a single word now lay branded onto his arm, its black letters standing in stark contrast to his skin.

_Sharingan_.

Naruto and Hinata both said the word out loud, eyes transfixed on it.

"What…what does it mean?" Hinata asked, sounding astonished. Naruto shook his head slightly.

"I have no idea…"

Naruto was familiar enough with the Sharingan, the now infamous Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan, but he had no idea why its name was now printed onto his arm. Perhaps it was some kind of warning? Or a message? And if that was the case, then who was it from, and how had it gotten there? Whatever the purpose of the word and the strange symbols, Naruto knew of only two people in the entire camp that knew enough about the Sharingan to be useful, and of the two, he was quite sure he knew who he'd prefer to speak to.

"I have to find Kakashi," Naruto said as he pulled his sleeve over his arm once more. "He might be able to tell me what all of this means." He turned to Hinata, who was already staring intently back at him. "Hinata, do me a favor and don't tell anyone about this just yet, okay? I don't want anyone to start panicking over nothing."

"B-but what if it's dangerous?!" she pleaded, fear creeping into her voice again. "I don't want you to get hurt…" Naruto have her a grin in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"If Kakashi says it's dangerous, or doesn't know what it is, I'll go straight to the medical tents. Promise!" Naruto took off in the direction of the camp, taking long bounding strides. "Thanks Hinata!" he called over his shoulder, leaving the Hyuuga girl staring after him. Had Naruto not covered so much ground so quickly, or had his mind not been so consumed with questions over his new markings, he might have been able to catch Hinata's last desperate attempt to ask him to go to the celebration that night with her if he was indeed all right. But he and his thoughts were already elsewhere, and the words drifted away unheard into the afternoon.

* * *

Naruto had entered the camp in a full sprint, fully anticipating a tedious and protracted search for his elusive former teacher. Every location within the sprawling camp where Kakashi might possibly be now flitted through his mind in a high-speed checklist, and his eyes frantically scanned the surrounding crowds for any sign of that signature silver hair.

That is why when Naruto nearly ran over Kakashi, who had just rounded the corner of a tent to his left, his mind had momentarily stopped functioning as the momentum of his thoughts seemed to thud against his skull. Naruto clumsily skidded to a stop in front of the jonin, almost tripping over himself in the process. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh, Naruto. I didn't expect to see you tearing through the camp. I thought you'd still off beating up logs painted like the Kages." He squinted as he examined Naruto's face more carefully. "But you don't look to be in as bad a mood as before." Naruto shook his head vigorously.

"Kakashi, that isn't important right now! There's something you need to see, it's-" Naruto suddenly became aware of the conspicuously high volume of his voice, and the many sets of eyes that now cast their unwanted gazes on him. Lowering his voice, Naruto continued, "I have to show you something, but not here. Follow me." Kakashi gave his former pupil a questionable look, but nodded slowly.

"Alright, Naruto… lead the way."

Naruto wasted no time and began walking at a brisk pace towards the nearest edge of the camp. He had decided to rule out going back to his own tent, reasoning that a more secluded location with less possibility of running into others would be best. If these markings on his arm did contain some kind of warning, or worse yet, were destructive somehow, he wanted to be sure that they were well out of range of the camp. Kakashi kept his pace next to Naruto, keeping his demeanor casual.

"So," he asked in conversational tone, hoping to avoid rousing outside attention. "Should I be worried about something?"

"Not sure yet," Naruto answered in a similarly even voice. "But we're being safe just to be sure." A silence followed, and Naruto knew that Kakashi now grasped that something serious was happening.

"Is it about Sasuke?" Kakashi finally asked.

Naruto's brow furrowed. He hadn't considered the possibility that Sasuke could somehow be involved with the strange markings currently lining his arm. Still, Kakashi had unknowingly raised a question both interesting and disturbing in equal parts. Sasuke did possess the Sharingan, but what reason would he have for leaving some kind of message on his arm?

"I'm not sure," Naruto said thoughtfully, "Possibly. You'll have to see it first. This way."

Naruto veered suddenly between two tents and emerged on the opposite side to see a dense grouping of trees. They had made their way to the edge of the camp once more. Seconds later, Kakashi emerged from the same small gap Naruto had come through.

"Here?" He asked. Naruto shook his head.

"Not yet, let's head into the forest a ways." The pair made a quick scan of the area to make sure that no other prying ninja had decided to follow them, then quickly disappeared into the thicket.

Naruto and Kakashi walked silently for a time, avoiding the fallen trees and thorny brush of the forest as they went. The afternoon had gone quickly amidst the chaos of the day, and the sun had already passed its zenith in the sky. Despite their possibly dangerous situation, Naruto found himself enjoying the warm afternoon air and the rhythmic sound of the brush crunching under foot. It was Kakashi who finally broke their silence.

"I think we've gone far enough, Naruto." He said, the crunching of his footsteps stopping. "What is it you needed me to see? Is it out here somewhere?"

"It's not something here in the forest, no." Naruto quickly looked around and spotted a clearing a several feet away. The sunlight there would allow Kakashi to make out the characters more easily. He began to walk towards it. "Earlier today, I was talking with Hinata, and all of a sudden, I felt this burning sensation on my arm. At first I didn't think it was anything, but it started to get worse. When I pulled up my sleeve to see what it was, I found this." Once Naruto had entered the sunlit clearing, he turned back towards Kakashi and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the strange black script. Kakashi approached slowly, the look of curiosity on his face morphing into one of awe the closer he came. When he had come close enough, he took Naruto's arm deftly in his hands and brought it closer to his face.

"This… is the sacred script of the Uchiha clan." He said finally, his visible eye scanning each character carefully. "We learned about this when I was in Anbu. It's unreadable unless you possess the Sharingan, it's how members of the Uchiha clan would pass along sensitive information to one another." He pointed one finger to the sole legible word on Naruto's arm. "This was supposed to be your clue. Someone wanted you to read this." Naruto felt excitement, curiosity, and nervousness all boil up within him at once. He looked expectantly towards his teacher.

"Can you read it with your Sharingan, Kakashi-sensei?" When Kakashi shook his head, Naruto's felt his heart sink.

"I tried to once while I was in Anbu on some old letters we uncovered from the Uchiha compound after the massacre, but even with my Sharingan they were still unreadable… unless." Naruto's ears perked, and he noticed the contemplative expression in Kakashi's eye.

"Unless?" he pressed. Kakashi looked back down at Naruto's arm.

"Unless the regular Sharingan wasn't enough."

Without another word, Kakashi brought his own hand up to his face, lifted his headband from over the left side of his face, and opened his eye, revealing the telltale red iris and three black tomoe of the Sharingan. After only a second, the three tomoe began to spin, slowly melding together into the sharp, vortex-like shape Naruto knew to be Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto's heart skipped a beat as Kakashi's eyes widened.

"The symbols are reshaping themselves," he breathed, amazed. "I can read it now…" Naruto watched as Kakashi's one red eye scanned the words that he himself could not see. He could feel his anxious curiosity intensify with each pass of Kakashi's eye over his arm. Finally, Kakashi hummed in understanding.

"What?" asked quickly, "What is it?" it was only after he spoke and felt winded that Naruto realized he had been holding his breath as Kakashi had been reading.

"It's strange," Kakashi replied, rescanning several parts of the message. "It looks like instructions for some kind of summoning circle."

"A summoning circle? To summon what, exactly?" Kakashi shrugged.

"I don't know." He turned upward to look Naruto in the eyes. "But we're about to find out. Help me clear a space in the dirt here."

Naruto nodded and did as he was told, quickly sweeping away all of the leaves, twigs and rocks he could from a plot of dirt towards the center of the clearing, until a bare circular spot about three feet across had been made. Kakashi looked it over, then deciding it was sufficient, set himself to the task of carving the summoning circle into the dirt with a stick.

While summoning circles were usually something instantaneously formed by ninjas with little more needed than a drop of blood and sufficient chakra, summoning an unknown being or item with which a ninja had no previous contract was another matter entirely. Each symbol and glyph had to be written by hand exactly and in the right order, or the summon would not work. Luckily, these seemed to be little more than trivial details to Kakashi as he quickly etched symbol after symbol into the dirt with a clearly practiced hand. He would glance occasionally back at Naruto's arm for instruction, but other than that showed no signs of trouble. After what seemed like no time at all, Kakashi carefully rose from his crouched position to survey his handiwork.

"This should do it, I think." He said as he brushed the dirt from his pants. He turned to Naruto. "Be on your guard. We don't know what's going to show up once we activate this circle, and I want you to be ready to fight or run if you need to." Naruto gave Kakashi a grim smile.

"You're crazy if you think I'm gonna run and leave you behind, but I'm ready to fight whatever this thing's got for us." Kakashi nodded, then directed his attention back towards the circle.

"Alright then, here we go." Kakashi pulled a kunai from a pouch on his waist and pressed its sharp point against the center of his thumb. When he drew it away, a small red bead of blood swelled from the small wound. Dabbing the blood onto his palm, Kakashi raised his hand above his head before bringing it down abruptly on top of the circle in the dirt. "Summon!" he shouted, and suddenly the small clearing was filled with white smoke.

Naruto had already created several shadow clones that now surrounded the area, each with a glowing blue Rasengan in hand, and his eyes now strained to see what lay within the cloud of smoke. As the cloud began to dissipate, Naruto could see nothing that indicated a threat. Whatever had been summoned, it wasn't large.

"Do you see anything yet, Naruto?" Kakashi called from somewhere on the opposite side of the clearing.

"No!" He yelled back, still searching. Suddenly, a strange, dark shape close to the ground began to come into view. "Wait, there's something there on the ground!" His eyes now locked onto the shape, he began to notice it was making slight, heaving movements. Whatever it was, it was alive. "Be careful, Sensei" He warned, readying his Rasengan. "It's alive!" The sudden sound of coughing made Naruto's ears perk up.

"Only barely alive, boy. And I am not an _it_." A husky voice responded from the smoke. Why did it sound so familiar?

"It couldn't be," Naruto heard Kakashi say. "Is that you… Obito?"

Naruto squinted at the shape on the ground. As the last of the smoke finally dispersed from the clearing, he realized that it was indeed a man, hunched into an uncomfortable looking position in a white hospital gown, familiar white bandages covering most of his body.

"O-Obito?!" Naruto exclaimed, eyes widening. "It is you! Why- How-"

"Not now, boy!" he rasped loudly, sending him into another coughing fit. "They'll no doubt know that I'm gone already," he turned his head towards Kakashi on his opposite side. "Kakashi, take us to Kamui's dimension with your Sharingan! I'll answer all of your questions once we're there!"

Kakashi simply stared at Obito with a sharp expression.

"If you think I'm going to help you escape Obito, you've lost your mind." He said, his voice stony.

"Do what he says, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi's eyes quickly found Naruto.

"What?" he sputtered, sounding as if Naruto had just asked him to cut off his own hand. Naruto's eyes fell onto Obito once more.

"I want to hear what he has to say," his eyes narrowed. "And even if he tries to get away, he _won't_ escape." Kakashi was silent for a moment, his eyes dancing between Naruto and Obito. Finally, he nodded.

"Alright, Naruto. I'm trusting you on this…" He stared at Obito. "You first."

Naruto watched as Kakashi's Sharingan began to spin once more. He noticed Obito's body begin to look distorted as the space around him seemed to spin. Then, with a soft _whoosh_, Obito was gone once more. Kakashi then turned towards Naruto, his Sharingan still spinning.

"Be careful," he said. "I'll be right behind you." Naruto nodded.

"Right."

Naruto had the sudden jarring feeling of being pulled inward on himself, the forest around him seeming to spin. Then suddenly, he was aware of nothing but black.

* * *

Naruto staggered as solid ground rushed to meet his feet once again. His head felt dizzy, and he decided then that Kakashi's jutsu, while undeniably useful, was in no way enjoyable to be apart of. He had to blink several times for his eyes to adjust to the dim light that lit his surroundings. Naruto had seen Obito's pocket dimension only once before, and its odd square platforms seemingly extending on endlessly into the darkness in every direction unsettled him.

The only different sight to see in the entire dimension, Naruto guessed, was Obito himself, currently sitting hunched over on the other side of their square platform and breathing heavily. Taking a deep breath, Naruto approached his former nemesis.

"Alright, Obito, we're here," he motioned around them with a sweeping gesture. "Safe in your own dimension. Now start talking." Obito coughed, but said nothing more. Feeling a hint of irritation at being so blatantly ignored, Naruto took a step closer. "Did you honestly bring us here so you could just sit there? I swear, if you think-" Naruto stopped as Obito finally looked up at him, his eyes filled with the undeniable look of remorse.

"I never did thank you." He said, his voice sounding even more tired than before. "You were the one who changed my mind, made me realize what exactly I was doing, and I never thanked you." Naruto stood there, mouth agape, unsure how to respond to Obito's sudden sincerity.

"Uh…"

Suddenly the noise of footsteps from behind them cut through the silence, and Kakashi appeared at Naruto's side.

"He hasn't been any trouble, has he?" Kakashi asked, both eyes trained on Obito. The Uchiha smirked, his eyes again turning stolid.

"He talks too much, but not particularly troublesome." He grunted.

"I was talking about _you_." Kakashi shot back sharply. Obito merely coughed.

"I know what you meant, just a bit of fun." Kakashi crossed his arms.

"Right. Fun time's over now, why did you have us come here? And how did you get that message onto Naruto's arm?" Naruto unconsciously leaned towards Obito, curiosity clawing at his mind. Obito clicked his tongue.

"Kakashi, I would have expected you to have figured out the 'how' already at the very least." His gaze fell on Naruto, who started back at him confused. "I placed a delayed seal on this one's arm when you both visited me in my tent. You didn't find the brevity of our conversation unusual, boy?"

Naruto thought back to his suspiciously short conversation with Obito earlier that day, and suddenly remembered the way the Uchiha had grabbed his arm so suddenly. His blue eyes widened with understanding.

"You placed it on me when you grabbed my arm." Naruto started. "You never really needed to talk with me or Kakashi at all, it was all just to give you that one opportunity." Obito nodded, seemingly agreeing with Naruto's analysis.

"But why Naruto?" Kakashi interjected. "If you had intended for me to read the message anyway, why did you involve him?"

"Now that is a better question," Obito said, leaning farther forward on his legs. "My tent was most certainly bugged, and the Kages aren't stupid, they would have analyzed every minute interaction between myself and my ex-teammate. With you there would have been a much larger chance of someone realizing I had placed a seal." He paused for a moment to cough. When he had finished, he added; "besides, I wanted both of you to be here."

Naruto looked quizzically down at Obito.

"And… What are we all here for, exactly?" he asked. Obito heaved a long and tired sigh.

"I've come here to die, boy, and you're here to witness it." Naruto felt cold shock run through his body.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, "What do you mean you're hear to die?" Next to him, Kakashi stared sternly at the man on the floor.

"Neither of us are here to kill you, Obito. So if that's what you were hoping for…" Obito gave a stiff shake of his head.

"No, there would be no point to that." He said flatly. He paused, looking from Kakashi, to Naruto, and then to the floor between his legs. "I have wasted most of my life trying to build a nightmare. I've done terrible things to so many people that I'm not sure I even deserve to be around others anymore. And so long as I have this-" he jabbed a bandaged thumb towards his Rinnegan, "-It will just be a matter of time until someone worse than me gets a hold of it."

"But you've changed, Obito!" Naruto protested, feelings of pity and understanding flooding his senses. "Everyone knows you helped us beat Madara in the end, people will forgive you!" Naruto watched as the faintest of smiles spread across Obito's mangled face.

"I believe you, Naruto." He said, using Naruto's name for the first time. "But I would never be able to forgive _myself_ as long as I lived while so many others had died for my misplaced ambitions. No, it's better for me to die for this one last thing, this final bid for redemption."

"What are you talking about, Obito?" Kakashi asked, taking a step forward. "What thing?" With what appeared to be a considerable amount of effort, Obito lifted his broken body into a standing position.

"These past few days, I haven't really been sleeping," Obito grunted. "I've been waiting for my chakra to return to me, trying to conserve every last bit of it. That's why I asked you to bring us here instead of teleporting myself, Kakashi." Obito slowly turned himself away from Kakashi and Naruto and towards the endless oblivion of his pocket dimension. "I've been saving it all for this moment."

"What are you planning to do?" Naruto's voice asked almost on it's own. Obito's looked back at them, his eyes burning with a fierce determination.

"I'm going to release the tailed beasts. All of them, if I can, and send them and you both back to the real world." He faced forward once more and began to form the necessary seals with his hands. "Then me, that damnable statue, and the Rinnegan will rot here, so that no one can ever use them against anyone else ever again."

"That's crazy!" Naruto shouted, advancing towards Obito. "There's no need for you to die trying to do that! No one but the Sage of Six Paths ever managed to separate the tailed beasts once they've been brought back together!" unseen by both Kakashi and Naruto, a grim smile spread across Obito's face.

"All the more reason you should be silent now so I can concentrate, boy." Obito finished his final hand seal, then extended a palm out into the void. "Summon."

There was a massive plume of white smoke, and the enormous, grotesque Gedo Statue now towered over them. All nine of its eyes were open and bulging, their pupils twitching as though alive.

"Kakashi," Obito barked over his shoulder, his voice already sounding exhausted. "Once I begin, Use your Kamui on the statue's head, understand? That way I can drag the beasts out directly back to your dimension." Kakashi's eyes flicked disbelieving between the massive statue and his former teammate.

"Obito… I-"

"It's already done, Kakashi!" Obito snapped, "I can't stop the jutsu now, just be ready with Kamui!" Before Kakashi could protest further, streams of different-colored chakras began to pour from each of the eyes on the Statue, signifying that the extraction of the tailed beasts had begun. "Now!" Obito roared back.

Following his orders, Kakashi activated his Sharingan, and the streams of each of the tailed beasts' chakras began to disappear into the swirling Kamui portal like water down a drain. Naruto watched awestruck as bit by bit, Obito dragged all nine of the beasts from their prison. Only minutes into the ritual, the toll on Obito's feeble body had become brutally evident, as his legs began to shake beneath him until they finally gave way. Still, he never broke his concentration on the statue, and the chakra continued to pour from it.

"N-Naruto," Obito called, his voice now little more than a hoarse whisper. "I almost…forgot. Your friend… Yamato? He still… lives." Naruto felt his heart skip.

"Captain Yamato is still alive?! Where?"

"In our… underground base… east of your camp… nine miles." Obito croaked, his concentration on his jutsu never wavering. "Entrance… behind… waterfall."

Just then, the flow of chakra from the Gedo Statue seemed to ebb away into nothing, and all nine of it's unnerving eyes slid shut. Naruto blinked, momentarily unable to comprehend what had just happened. Finally, the truth of the situation fully sank into his mind: Obito had done the impossible and freed the tailed beasts.

"Wow," Naruto breathed in pure amazement. "You did it, Obito! Thank yo- Obito?" Naruto knew immediately that something was not right, as Obito hunched awkwardly forward, his arms limp at his sides. "Obito!"

Naruto rushed to his side and caught Obito by his shoulders seconds before he fell forward onto his head. Naruto carefully turned the Uchiha face-up to reveal a faint smile across his face. His eyes made only the slightest movement in Naruto's direction. Naruto quickly noticed that Obito's lips begin to move, as though he were trying to speak.

"What is it, Obito?" Naruto asked urgently, turning an ear closer to the man's mouth. Naruto strained to listen as hard as he could, but of all of Obito's final, nearly inaudible words, he only managed to pick up two.

"Thank you."

Naruto kept his ear close to Obito's mouth after that, thinking there would be more to hear, but the pressure of a hand on his shoulder tore him away. Kakashi now loomed over him, a sad, yet calm look adorning his features.

"He's gone, Naruto." He said softly.

Naruto looked down at Obito's face again, and instantly recognized the sightless eyes that all dead men possessed. Naruto felt a coldness spread throughout his body, and he lay Obito gently down on the ground.

"He didn't have to die like this." He said in a small voice as he rose from Obito's body. "There must have been a way we could have helped him." Kakashi gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Obito had planned on this since the end of the war, I think." He sighed. "Perhaps you're right, if we had known earlier what he planned to do, we could have saved him… But I think what Obito _really_ wanted, after spending so much time playing the villain, was to die a hero." He glanced down at his student. "He did that, Naruto. He freed the tailed beasts, and even made sure that no one, not even Sasuke, would be able to get the other Rinnegan."

Naruto's eyes fell once more onto the smile Obito had died with. He might have only known him for a short time, but Naruto hated the concept of losing anyone he considered to be an ally. Still, he had to admit, that as far as redemption was concerned, Obito had done more than Naruto would have ever thought possible to change his opinion of him since the start of the war.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, feeling more peaceful than before. "Let's get back, everyone should hear about this."

Kakashi said nothing, but nodded, and his Sharingan began to spin one last time. As the world around him began to spin once more, Naruto stole one last glance at the fallen Uchiha.

The last thing he saw before the world disappeared around him was Obito's final smile. The smile of a man redeemed.

* * *

E/N: Whew! that was a long one. Sorry again for the horrible wait time on this one, things are getting past the build-up stage and we'll be getting into the real meat of the story soon, so expect my creative enthusiasm to pump out more frequent chapters! Leave a review, and I'll see you all next chapter!


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